It's really about developing the right team and establishing certain checks and balances in place to provide you a level of trust and comfort so you don't have to physically travel to your property.  

do you physically stamp each letter or are you just sending postcards?

When you are not there physically, you have to have someone you trust to take care of your tenants and property.

My monthly payment would likely be around $2,900.The property will likely need $150-200k in remodeling, which I would pay for out of pocket, and my father is an excellent general contractor and would handle the whole job.My biggest concerns are the size of the mortgage, having renters in close proximity with my young family, uncertainty regarding property values long term, and landlording in California.

The country’s largest nuclear power plant is also in the far west valley, making the west valley the only viable option for people looking to live in a suburban area within a drivable proximity.  

To answer your questions specifically.1) If you have property management in-house then you can definitely realize the synergistic effects of having multiple properties within close proximity with one another.If you're outsourcing to third party, well, you probably won't get too many benefits.There are definitely discounts to be had on buying materials in bulk (appliances, floors, paint, etc...) which you can more easily justify when you have a larger portfolilo.

To complement the physical driving, you may also consider virtual 'driving' using Google Maps.

Aside of that, we were pretty much a lawn ornament, just sitting there looking pretty and being useless.ya out here the brokerages get their commissions via electronic transfer and the Alta same thing its e mailed to them or put in their drop box no one physically takes paper documents anywhere and has not forever..

Ok, makes sense that there won't be significant physical improvements. 

I'm currently looking in South Side near Carson street for close proximity to downtown, safety and retaining value.